


A hunters pups: Settling

by sarcasmismyweapon



Series: A hunters pups [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Brotherly Love, Cute, Family, Fluff, Kid Fic, Kidfic, Scent Marking, Scenting, Temper Tantrums
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-07-16
Packaged: 2019-06-11 13:57:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15316965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarcasmismyweapon/pseuds/sarcasmismyweapon
Summary: Sam's been throwing temper tantrums and Dean doesn't know what to do other than make a nest to settle his little brother. John teaches Dean how to make a proper nest and discovers just why Sam has been throwing tantrums much to his and Dean's delight.





	A hunters pups: Settling

**Author's Note:**

> Here is another fic in the hunter's pups series. If you haven't read the first one than I suggest you read the first, but it's not technically required seeing as this is a stand alone fic.

 

John glanced up from the paper he was scouring for a case, he was jolted from this task by movement. Glancing towards the sudden motion, a smirk was brought to his face when he saw Dean attempting to make a nest for his younger brother. The smaller boy was definitely in need of a nap, he’d been throwing fits nearly all day for some reason. Still it amazed him every time he saw Dean caring for his younger sibling in such a manner. He knew it was considered ‘taboo’ to put a gender to your children, there was no sure fire way to know what they might present as. It was just that with how Dean carried on with Sam that he couldn’t help but see the alpha he would become. He had the instincts to protect, to nurture his younger sibling like an alpha would their omega. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, John set the paper down and got up to help his son. It was clear that Sammy needed the nap, but at the same time he could use this opportunity to show Dean how to make a proper nest. It was a skill he’d need in the future, both when he took a mate and when he had pups of his own. Although his son didn’t use one anymore unless he was sick or hurt, John knew that Dean had always enjoyed the closeness the nest was meant to simulate. Now that he was older he tended to shy away from using a nest, preferring the closeness that sleeping next to him afforded rather than the security of a nest. Sammy wasn’t there yet, his youngest used a nest all the time which wasn’t all that uncommon given his age. Coming to stand beside his son he smiled down at Dean.

“Need some help champ?”

Dean huffed. “He wont stop.” He sent a perturbed look towards his younger brother, obviously distraught at being unable to help his younger sibling. Chuckling John ruffled his son’s hair well aware that Dean was becoming upset by being unable to calm his younger brother. “He just needs some down time kiddo. Here let me show you.” He gently untangled the blankets his son was attempting to use for the nest. He un-kinked them and showed the boy how to carefully fold the blankets over each other to give them some stability. He chose another for the bottom, folding it over itself until it had a couple layers and would offer some cushion to the nest’s floor. After all you didn’t always have a bed to build a nest on top of, most of the time nests were made on a floor of some sort so as to prevent errant pups from falling from any height. From there he demonstrated how weaving spare blankets around the edge of the nest made it closed in, offering a tightness that most children wanted to feel. It replicated their mothers womb, of their first nest at home once they were born. Dean smiled as he helped to push the last blankets into place, looking up at his father proudly.

“I did it?”

“You did.” He nodded, turning around he saw that Sam was still glowering at them. Chuckling he motioned for his son to come and get into his nest. The boy shook his head.

“NO.”

Sighing John got up from the bed and approached the moody toddler, Sam gave him reason to pause though when he let out a growl. Dean ran up to stand beside him an excited smile on his face. 

“Did he growl?” He gazed up at his father with a wide grin.

John smirked. “Yeah. Seems like his moodiness might not just be from being a cranky two year old.”

Dean smiled up at his father. “So he’s getting it?”

John chuckled. “He’s not getting anything Dean, he’s just learning to use his senses.”

The boy shrugged at his father's explanation, it was beyond his comprehension. All he really knew was that Sam was going to be like him now, would understand when Dean made comments about the smells around them. 

“Sammy, come here son.” John reached out his hands, ignoring the small growls his toddler gave. He knew just what would fix this. Getting his hands up under the boys armpits he lifted him up from the couch and brought him to his chest. Sam instinctively wrapped his arms around his father's neck, the glower still firmly in place despite being in his father's arms. John smiled back at Sam, his hand coming up to brace the back of the boys head.  “Come on now.” He pushed the boys head into the crook of his neck and held him there. John felt the boy try to pull back a growl leaving the small body, but it didn’t last long. Soon enough he felt the boys face snuggling into his neck, tiny puffs of air skirting his flesh. Releasing his son’s head John turned to stare down at his oldest.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs to settle into things. You were the same way.”

“I was?”

“Mmhmm all pups are, he’s confused is all. He’s never smelled the world like we do Dean and now he suddenly can. We’ll have to be patient with him until he gets the hang of things.” Dean gave a hasty nod to his father's words, he would do whatever he needed to make sure Sammy was happy. John smirked down to his oldest his previous mission of finding another case forgotten as he suggested.

“You know, if you were to lay in the nest it would absorb your scent. Later on if we put him down for a nap he’d sleep better that way.”

“Really?”

John nodded and watched with a grin as Dean ran across the room and climbed into the nest, he wasn’t lying about Sammy finding comfort in his brothers scent. However John didn’t inform Dean that they could have replicated the same thing by putting a pair of socks or a t-shirt in there instead of having the boy himself climb into the nest. John followed after his oldest and made himself comfortable next to the nest, stroking his fingers through Dean’s hair. Dean was getting older and soon enough he wouldn’t be able to trick the boy into a nest again. He’d have to grow out of them in preparation of getting his gender and as exciting as the prospect of his son becoming an alpha was, John would have to be stupid to not admit that he wouldn’t miss this. 

Leaning his head back against the headboard John continued to stroke Dean’s head while cradling Sam against him. The toddler had settled down, his small body taking in his father’s scent. Commiting the scent of the alpha to memory and hard wiring his brain to react positively to the scent, to tell him that he was safe with this alpha. Sam snuggled further into his neck, his nose snuffling along his skin as if trying to bury himself into his father's neck. Smirking John stroked the boys back to try and calm him when he let out a distressed whine at not being able to get any closer.

“Shh Sammy your fine kiddo. Just breath.” 

The more the boy scented him the better off they’d all be. The settling in period between a pup getting their senses and hormones settling was always a nightmare, the fact that it was combined with what people called the ‘terrible twos’ was a bit of a kick to the nuts. Toddlers in general weren’t very forgiving creatures, but combining that with new instincts and you had a whole new can of worms. He could only hope that Sammy might adjust like Dean had, though John knew that the likelihood of that happening was slim. Dean had both him and Mary to help guide him when he’d gone through the same thing, Sam only had him and Dean. No matter how close the boys were Dean’s scent wouldn’t do anything for Sam’s settling period which meant that it fell to John alone to keep the boy calm while his body sorted out the influx of information and hormones the change caused.

“Dad.”

Looking down to a sleepy eyed Dean, John replied. “Yes Dean?”

“How long is Sammy going to be grumpy?”

John chuckled at the innocent question. “A while Dean.”

“You don’t know how long?”

“It’s different for everyone son, you settled in a few weeks...Maybe a month and half? I can’t remember the exact time it took.”

“Oh.” Dean frowned as he shifted in the nest. “But he’ll be okay?”

“Yes Dean, he’ll be fine. He might be grouchy for a while, throw a few tantrums every now and then but he’ll be alright.”

Dean nodded beneath his hand. “But I can’t help?”

“Your too young son, you haven’t presented yet. Only those with their genders can help a pup.”

“So if I was older I could help him?”

“Yes, but that’s alright Dean we can get him through this. He’ll probably want to sleep snuggled up to one of us, even if your scent can’t ‘help’ your still his brother and he loves you. Being near you will help in other ways.”

Dean sighed as he snuggled into the nest, he’d forgotten how nice it was to be in one. Dean was kind of jealous that Sammy got to continue using them for a while. “We’ll put Sammy in the nest later right?”

Smirking down at his son John wondered if Dean was envious of Sam using the nest or if he was curious to know if they’d still use it now that they knew what was really wrong. “Yes Dean, we’ll put Sammy in the nest later. You can take a nap too kiddo, it’ll help him to smell you on the blankets.”

“Okay.” The boy yawned. “If it’s for Sammy.”

John chuckled as he rubbed the boys head. “It’s for Sammy.” He felt the boy bury his head into one of the folds of the nest before falling still, his other hand was still stroking his youngests back. Sam had fallen still against him, the small little puffs of air against his neck told him all he needed to know. Sam wasn’t scenting him anymore, but only because he’d fallen asleep. His body beginning to settle down at least for the moment from the influx of sensory inputs he’d been overloaded with from the room, John’s own scent was like an anchor and now that he had it Sam’s body was processing all it’d taken it.

John glanced over to where he’d discarded the paper, it was too far away to go get without disturbing one of the boys, the T.V. remote was out of reach as well. Sighing he canted his head back and closed his eyes. It looked like it was nap time for all three of them, hopefully everyone’s mood would be greatly improved by the nap. Though he knew that out of all of them, Sammy was the most likely to kick up a fuss when it ended. 

Tilting his head to the side he inhaled the pups scent, letting it fill his lungs before giving a big sigh. His own body flooded with endorphins as his childs scent filtered into his brain, telling him that the pup he was holding was safe and well cared for. If he was lucky Sam might settle in within a month or two as he really dreaded it taking any longer than that, having an emotional two year old who was bombarded with the scents of the world was not paramount to traveling the countryside. He didn’t even want to think about how the boy would react if he came home smelling like something he’d hunted, Dean had adjusted well enough to the strange scents. Sammy wouldn’t be so forgiving to the onslaught of whatever creature he’d put down. 

Then again introducing Sammy to people in general wasn’t going to go much better than the supernatural scent’s he’d bring home. The kid was going to be hissing and growling at everyone and no matter how much the public at large thought it was cute to see a two year old coming into their scents, it wasn’t in fact fun for him or Sam. He’d just have to wait until the boy woke up from his nap to see how bad things were liable to get though if Sam’s normal reactions to things were anything to go by he was in for hell of a wait for the boy to settle.

 

***************

 

John had to forcibly hold back his grin as he wrangled the two year old who was growling at the cleaning lady at the motel they were presently staying at. She glanced down at the toddler with an air of disinterest before pushing her cart along. Snorting John crouched down and pulled his son’s chin around so he was no longer glaring after the woman, but focused on him instead. The boy gave a small growl at him, but John ignored the tiny rebuttal in favor of drawing the boy against him. Sam snuffled against his chest as he was cradled, his head tilting back so he could scent his father's neck. 

He’d begun to stop fighting when John cradled him like this, drawing him into a scent his body understood even if the toddler didn’t. John was of course quite relieved when his youngest didn’t put up a fight of being scented, ordinarily the boy was all giggles and smiles when he or Dean did it to the boy. When the tables were turned and he was being instructed to scent his father however the boy seemed to get a bit of a wild streak in him. Today was a good day though, the boy hadn’t fought overly hard as he’d drawn him into his body. He’d even initiated the scenting himself as if he already knew that he needed his father and alpha’s scent. John smirked as he cradled the boys head to himself.

“That’s good Sammy.” He crooned to the toddler as he scooped the tiny body up so he could resume walking. He’d taken the boy on a small tour of the area around their seedy motel in the hopes of getting the boy acclimated to some of the more common scent’s the boy would come across in their travels. He was ever thankful that the boy was too young to ask about the cloying scent of sex that always hung around places like these, though he knew it was only a matter of time before the boy found the right words to ask. Lord knew Dean had. 

Coming back to their room he fished out the key and unlocked the door, it was still early. Dean hadn’t been awake when they left which was fine as it gave him plenty of time to settle Sammy from their morning walk, his oldest accompanied them for the afternoon one. Dean just wasn’t a morning person and John didn’t begrudge the boy for wanting to sleep through Sammy’s morning walk when the toddler was sure to be in a bad mood. 

Shutting the door behind him, locking it securely John made his way to his bed. Sitting on the edge a moment to make sure that Sam really was settled enough to pull the boy away from himself. When he canted the boys body back into his arms he saw the small pout on the toddlers face and smirked.

“It’s alright Sammy.”

“No.” The boy stated petulantly.

Chuckling he nodded. “It’s fine son. I know you don’t like it, but it’ll get better. Dean and I don’t react to things right? You’ll get used to it.”

John sighed when Sam began to kick up a fuss again, shoving at his fathers chest while demanding to be put down.

“DOWN!”

“No sam.” John grit his teeth as he pulled on the toddler to get him to scent him once more. Sam screamed against him earning a tired sigh as the alpha folded the boys arms between their chests and forced the boys head once more into his neck.

“Sammy’s grumpy again.”

Twisting his head aside he saw a frowning Dean rubbing his eyes as he sat up.  “Yes he is. He was doing pretty good until we got back.”

Dean gave a sleepy noise as his hand fell away from his eyes and he stared back at him. Smiling John patted the place next to him and with a broad smile the boy climbed out of the opposing bed and climbed up with him. Snuggling into his side and reaching out to rub his little brothers back.  “It’s okay Sammy.”

The toddler was still giving off little noises of displeasure as John used the hand cradling the boys head to stroke his scalp. Tiny growls that were cut off half way to fruition as his alpha’s scent flooded his brain only for the boy to shift and continue as if he was irritated at being interrupted. Dean glanced up to his father cautiously.  “Are we gonna be stuck inside again?”

John chuckled and shook his head. He knew Dean didn’t like being cooped up in the motel room, but for the first couple days John had imposed that they not leave. Allowing Sam to get used to solely their scents before bombarding him with the outside world, the boy had begun to adjust to their scents when Dean had gotten cabin fever. His own mood souring the longer they were trapped inside for his younger brothers benefit, it wasn’t until the older boy threw his own tantrum that John knew it was time to get some fresh air.

He’d taken Dean to a nearby park, situating himself on a bench in clear sight of the small playground. They’d only managed to be there for a half an hour before Sam started throwing a fit, but John dealt with it and told Dean to play regardless of his little brothers fit. Now nearly a week later John gave a nod.  “I suppose he’s gonna be cranky no matter where we are. You wanna go to the park again?”

Dean’s grin damn near split his face as he gave a hasty nod.

“Alright, get dressed.” 

Dean scrambled off of the bed and raced to get some clean cloths.  “Wash your face.” John called out with a pointed look.

The boy nodded and ran to do as his father ordered, smirking to himself John twisted his face a bit and scented his youngest. The boys soft growls had tapered off and now just the tiny vocalizations of a pup were leaving the boy. Stroking the boys back John whispered to his youngest.

“We’re gonna go to the park Sam, you can play or you can stay with me. There won’t be any fussing though.” He knew the likelihood of that happening was about as much as him finding a unicorn, but he had to try and get the boy to start reacting positively to the world around him. Sam snuffled against him, his tiny arms which had been trapped between them clutching to this fathers shirt. Giving a small nod at his youngest’s actions he kissed the side of the boys head and resumed waiting for his oldest to be ready to leave.

The short drive to the park didn’t improve Sam’s mood any, the pup having been quite displeased to be wrenched free from his father's gentle hold. Dean was doing his best to keep the boys spirits up, but even the six year old could tell that Sam wasn’t buying it. Smirking as he listened to Dean regale his brother with how awesome the swings were at the park, he pulled the old chevy into the parking lot and shut off the engine.

“Alright boys we’re here.”

Dean crowed in delight, climbing to stand on the seat much to his father's annoyance.

“Dean.”

The boy turned and with a flush to his cheeks sat back down on the bench. John gave a nod at the boys actions before opening the drivers side door and getting out. He motioned for the boys to slide out on his side, taking Dean’s hand and pulling the pup from the car where he jumped down to the asphalt and waited anxiously to be let loose onto the playground. When John reached in for Sam he found the pup glaring back at him from across the car. Sighing the alpha shook his head.

“Sam you gotta get outta the car son, I’ll hold you if you want.” He offered hoping that it would be enough to get the boy out of the car. The glare that the pup was sporting proved stronger than the alpha’s offer of comfort. Glancing towards his oldest when he saw Dean move he sighed, the kid was full of energy at the moment and was trying to be good by not running off. If it weren’t for his fear of something going wrong he would have let the kid run off to the playground, but he knew better. He knew what could lurk in the smallest of shadows and he wasn’t about to put his pup in danger just because the boy was eager to go play.

“Just a minute Dean.”

“Okay.” The boy said in a hurry as he swayed from foot to foot.

Looking back into the car John gave a reproachful look to his youngest. “Come on Sam.”

The boy growled back at him. “NO.”

Shaking his head John leaned into the car and reached for the pup, Sam pulled back against the passenger side door and hissed. Climbing further across the bench seat John managed to snag the boys ankle and dragged the boy closer to him, the pup’s growl ceased as he was dragged on his back to rest under his father. John smirked when he heard the small giggle from the previously rebellious toddler, god the mood swings were killer. He’d take the sudden change of heart though, leaning down he blew a raspberry on the boys cheek making the pup scream in delight as his small hands came up in an effort to stop the man. Wrapping an arm around the boy he slid backwards from the car and with Sam hugging his body shut the door and nodded to Dean.

“Let’s go.”

Dean smiled up at him as he took his father's hand, the small family walking the short distance to the park all while Sam snuggled into his father's shoulder. Once he was seated on the bench John released Dean into the wild and smirked as the boy ran at breakneck speed to climb the jungle gym. Twisting his head to the side showed that Sammy was scenting the air, something he’d been encouraging over the last few days. Knowing that even a small change in scent could throw the boy back into a fit, John scented the air himself to see if there was anything noteworthy that might upset the pup. Granted he wasn’t smelling the world for the first time like his boy, but when he focused hard enough he could pick up on what might seem strange or scary to the pup. The air was clear, the recent rain having washed away the majority of scents that had no doubt clouded the area.

“What’s wrong Sam?” He prompted the boy to try and get the toddler to use his words.

Sam glanced down at him and wrinkled his nose earning a small chuckle from his father. “Smell something you don’t like?”

Sam scented the air once more before muttering in a displeased tone. “Smells weird.”

John gave a dry huff of laughter. “I bet it does, but what are you smelling?” The sooner the boy began to recognize the scents around him the faster he’d begin to ignore them. Sam buried his face once more into his father's neck, John didn’t try to stop the boy from doing so. He knew the boy was reaching his limit when he grew confused and actively sought out his scent.

“It’s alright Sammy.” The boy whimpered against his neck. Sighing John stroked the toddlers back and focused on his eldest. 

Dean was swinging from the monkey bars apparently having the time of his life, chuckling as he watched the boy swing to and fro John reminded himself that it wouldn’t be long before he’d have to start training the boy. Dean was getting older and with that came new responsibilities, it wouldn’t be long before the boys gender would be decided. Most children presented around the age of 12 which meant that Dean only had six more years of childhood before he had to learn new instincts all over again. John wasn’t looking forward to dealing with a hormonal twelve year old and a eight year old pup who’d be preparing for his own presentation of gender. Then again it wasn’t as if he had much of a choice, things would be easier or so he hoped if Dean did present as an alpha. He would be able to understand why the boy was acting how he acted and be able to counter it. Not to mention being an alpha himself he’d be able to dampen some of the boys behavior by taking the reigns and directing the child. It was going to be an arduous journey to raise the boys and he shuddered to think what they might be like when they were teens, but for now he’d relish the childhood that still clung to them like his own protective scent.

 


End file.
